Electronic display paintball loader with sensors

ABSTRACT

A paintball hopper apparatus for supplying paintballs including a hopper body with a feed neck and sensors displaying information about the paintball loader&#39;s operating condition. Sensors are provided for sensing the force of the driven impeller, the quantity of paintballs or the open space inside the hopper body, the number of balls discharged from the container, the rate of discharge of the paintballs, the speed of discharge of the paintballs, and the available power supply for the loader operation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 61/197,648, filed on Oct. 29, 2008, the content of which is which are incorporated by reference in its entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not Applicable.

RESERVATION OF RIGHTS

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to intellectual property rights such as but not limited to copyright, trademark, and/or trade dress protection. The owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records but otherwise reserves all rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to improvements in paintball loaders. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements particularly suited for displaying information about the loader operation, history, and current status. In particular, the present invention relates specifically to an electronic sensing and display system for providing information to the user.

2. Description of the Known Art

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art paintball loaders are known in various forms. Patents disclosing information relevant to paintball loaders include: U.S. Pat. No. 7,357,130 issued to Broersma on Apr. 15, 2008 entitled Spring-assisted paintball loader; U.S. Pat. No. 7,357,129 issued to Neumaster, et al. on Apr. 15, 2008 entitled Active feed paintball loader with flexible impeller; U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,909 issued to Christopher, et al. on Mar. 18, 2008 entitled Mechanical drive assist for active feed paintball loader; U.S. Pat. No. 7,322,347 issued to Broersma on Jan. 29, 2008 entitled Adjustable capacity loader for paintball markers; U.S. Pat. No. 7,021,302, issued to Neumaster, et al. on Apr. 4, 2006, entitled Active feed paintball loader with flexible impeller; U.S. Pat. No. 7,017,569, issued to Jong on Mar. 28, 2006, entitled Paintball marker loader apparatus; U.S. Pat. No. 7,011,083, issued to Ho, et al. on Mar. 14, 2006, entitled Paintball refillers and method for making and using same; U.S. Pat. No. 6,978,776, issued to Hamilton on Dec. 27, 2005, entitled Multiple column helical feeder; U.S. Pat. No. 6,889,680 issued to Christopher, et al. on May 10, 2005 entitled Differential detection system for controlling feed of a paintball loader; U.S. Pat. No. 6,860,258 issued to Farrell on Mar. 1, 2005 entitled Paintball loader; U.S. Pat. No. 6,792,933 issued to Christopher, et al. on Sep. 21, 2004 entitled Drive cone for paintball loader; U.S. Pat. No. 6,701,907 issued to Christopher, et al. on Mar. 9, 2004 entitled Spring loaded feed mechanism for paintball loader; U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,852, issued to Yokota, et al. on Apr. 27, 2004, entitled Free-flowing paintball hopper; U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,293 issued to Jong on Nov. 11, 2003 entitled Paintball marker loader apparatus; U.S. Pat. No. 6,502,567 issued to Christopher, et al. on Jan. 7, 2003 entitled Rapid feed paintball loader with pivotable deflector; U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,432 issued to Rushton, et al. on Nov. 19, 2002 entitled Paintball hopper; U.S. Pat. No. 6,418,919 issued to Perrone on Jul. 16, 2002 entitled Paintball loader with vibrating mechanism to prevent jamming; U.S. Pat. No. 6,415,781 issued to Perrone on Jul. 9, 2002 entitled Bulk loader for paintball gun; U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,157 issued to Parks on May 22, 2001 entitled Paintball gun loader speed collar; U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,110 issued to Christopher, et al. on Apr. 10, 2001 entitled Rapid feed paintball loader; U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,042 issued to Harvey on Sep. 21, 1999 entitled Paintball loader; U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,232, issued to Bell on Oct. 6, 1998, entitled Paintball loader having active feed mechanism; U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,983 issued to Stoneking on Sep. 22, 1998 entitled Lighting loader system; U.S. Pat. No. 5,736,720 issued to Bell, et al. on Apr. 7, 1998, entitled Loader mounted paintball game scorekeeper and an associated paintball game playing system; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,454, issued to Bell, et al. on Feb. 1, 1994, entitled Jam-free bulk loader for a paintball gun. Each of these patents is hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety. These prior art patents are very limited in their teaching and utilization, and an improved loader with operational sensors and user display is needed to overcome these limitations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an improved paintball loader using a display. In accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a paintball loader is provided using a hopper body with a feed neck and a driven impeller that is mounted in the hopper body to drive paintballs through the feedneck. A force sensor is connected to the driven impeller for generating a signal output that is communicated to a display driver for illustrating a visual interpretation or graph of the tension level on the display. A fill level sensor can also be used inside the hopper body. The fill level sensor is also connected to the display driver to drive the display to present a fill level indicator such as a graph on the display. Another sensor is the ball discharge sensor to provide information for an incremental counter representation on the display. A clock or timer may be used to combine with the information from the ball discharge sensor to generate rate-of-fire graphs or displays. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention, along with features of novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear or become apparent by reviewing the following detailed description of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following drawings, which form a part of the specification and which are to be construed in conjunction therewith, and in which like reference numerals have been employed throughout wherever possible to indicate like parts in the various views:

FIG. 1 is an end view of a paintball loader with a multiple item display.

FIG. 2 is an end view of a paintball loader with another version of a multiple item display.

FIG. 3 is an end view of a paintball loader with another version of a multiple item display.

FIG. 4 is an end view of a paintball loader with another version of a multiple item display.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a paintball loader showing internal sensor positions.

FIG. 6 is a view of a paintball loader body showing internal sensor positions.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths.

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths.

FIG. 15 is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths.

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths.

FIG. 17 is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths.

FIG. 18 is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart of the processor signal flow showing inputs and outputs.

FIG. 20 is an electrical schematic of the serial data card board.

FIG. 21 is an electrical schematic of the OLED/switch board.

FIG. 22 is an electrical schematic of the eye board and/or level sensors.

FIG. 23 is an electrical schematic of the main board.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIGS. 1 through 6 of the drawings, one exemplary embodiment of the present invention is generally shown as a paintball loader 100. Using FIG. 5 as a reference for an exploded view of an embodiment of the loader, one can see how the paintball loader 100 can be constructed with the various sensors. This embodiment of the paintball loader 100 uses a base 110 with a mount adapter 120 to hold a display controller printed circuit board 130 that is used to drive the display 350 through connection harness 351. This is described in more detail in the discussion of FIG. 19. Returning to FIG. 5, the display controller printed circuit board 130, along with the raceway 140, feed neck 142, motor assembly 150 and primary loader controller printed circuit board 160 are all mounted into the base 110 and secured by the raceway screws 170 and motor screws 320. A drive speed detector 152 is mounted on the motor assembly 150, and a ball movement sensor 162 is mounted at the end of the primary loader controller printed circuit board 160. The ball movement sensor 162 uses neck sensors 164 such as IR beams and/or bend sensors to detect movement of paintballs inside the feed neck 142 as is well known in the art. Finally, an impellor assembly 180 is connected into the motor assembly 150 with the impellor screw 190 and a primary battery harness 280 is used to supply power from the batteries 281 into the primary loader controller printed circuit board 160. The primary loader controller printed circuit board 160 includes a battery level sensor for sensing available power.

A hopper shell 192 is made up of a right housing 200 connected to a left housing 230 by housing screws 240. The housings mount to the base 110 to form the drive compartment 196.

The upper interior of these housings 230, 240 form a ball compartment 194 accessed by a fill aperture 195. Paintballs are directed from this interior space by the ball ramp 210 and ball guide 220 into the feedneck 142 for supply outside of the hopper 100. A weight sensor 336 is mounted under the ball ramp 210 to measure the weight of the paintballs on the ball ramp 210. The weight sensor 336 includes a coupling wire for connection to the primary loader controller printed circuit board 160. The input aperture 249 is covered by the lid assembly 250 that is biased open with the flip lid spring 260 and which clips over the hopper shell 192 to be secured in a closed position.

Input for the motor controller and the display may be made through the preferred embodiment's loader mode input button 270. This mechanical switch is used in this preferred embodiment because it has a proven track record in actual play on the paintball field. Note that capacitance sensing of pressure on the display unit 350 can also provide input for the microprocessor on the primary loader controller printed circuit board 160. The display controller printed circuit board 130 is a driver for an oled or electronic paper type of display with both image display control and capacitance information sensing input from the display 350. This sensed information is transferred across the interface cable connecting harness 290 to the primary loader controller printed circuit board 160 for control input. Similarly, a reverse flow of information across the interface cable connecting harness 290 provides display information back to the display controller printed circuit board 130 from the primary loader controller printed circuit board 160.

A ball movement detector 162 is used to detect ball movement and ball discharge in the feedneck using a sensor 164 comprised of an infra-red emitter 332 and infra-red receiver 334. The quantity of available balls is determined by using the weight sensor 336 mounted underneath the ball ramp 210 or as shown in FIGS. 7 through 18, a level sensor 340 may also be used consisting of infra-red emitters 341, 342, 343 and infra-red receivers 344, 345, 346. FIGS. 7 through 18 show how using upper 341, 344, middle 344, 345 and lower 343, 346 level sensors allows for detecting a quantity of paintballs in both level and angled detection orientations inside the hopper compartment 194. FIG. 7 shows how the upper 341 emitter can signal, as indicated by the lines across the compartment, all three of the sensors 344, 345, and 346 when the compartment 194 is empty. Similarly, FIG. 8 shows how the middle 342 emitter can signal all three of the sensors 344, 345, and 346 when the compartment 194 is empty. Finally, FIG. 9 shows how the lower 343 emitter can signal all three of the sensors 344, 345, and 346 when the compartment 194 is empty. FIG. 10 shows how a full compartment blocks all of the infra-red emitters 341, 342, 343 from sending a signal to any of the infra-red receivers 344, 345, 346. This allows for detection of a full hopper. FIGS. 11 and 12 show how a partially filled compartment allows for the top infra-red emitter 341 to signal the upper mid level infra-red receivers 344, 345 and the middle infra-red emitter 342 to signal the upper infra-red receiver 344. This allows for detection of a partially filled compartment along with sensing of the amount of partial fill. FIGS. 13, 14, and 15 show an even further reduced level of fill and show how the high infra-red emitter 341 is sensed by all three infra-red receivers 344, 345, 346, how the mid level infra-red emitter 342 is sensed by the upper and middle infra-red receiver 344, 345, and how the lower infra-red emitter 343 is only sensed by the upper infra-red receiver 344. In this manner it is shows how the varying paintball levels inside the hopper can be sensed by the multiple level receivers and sensors. FIGS. 16, 17, and 18 then show how a partial fill can still be sensed even when the hopper is leaned over to one side at an angle during shooting around an obstacle. While both the weight sensor and beam type of sensor have been shown, the present invention also notes that other types of sensors are within the scope of the present invention and could also be deployed inside the hopper including a sound-echo sensor, physical float or contact type of sensor, expanding bladder sensor, and all of the other various types of sensors known to measure a volume quantity of a material or the available free volume within a container. Any of these types of sensor can be used to sense the variable difference between a full, partially full, and empty hopper so that the information can be communicated to the user.

As shown in FIG. 1, the display 350 is preferably an electronic paper display such as that commercially offered by BRIDGESTONE AMERICA™, 535 Marriott Drive, Nashville, Tenn. 37214 under the name QR-LPD™ or by PVI™, Prime View International Co. LTD, 3, LI Shin Rd. 1, Science-based Industral Park, Hsinchu, Taiwan, R.O.C. under the name MAGICMIRROR™. The latter supplier has electronic touch sensing for the display so that the display can be used to sense user contact for inputting information into the display controller printed circuit board 130 and on to the primary loader controller printed circuit board 160.

The display 350 is illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4 in various embodiments showing configurations for display of a battery indicator 352, force mode indicator 354, speed mode indicator 356, Average Rate of Fire Indicator 358, Maximum Rate of Fire Indicator 360, Logo 362, Timer 364/Clock 366, Present Capacity indicator 368, and Starting Capacity indicator 370. The battery indicator 352 is a proportional display showing the proportionate power from full power down to the minimum power requirement as sensed by the primary loader controller printed circuit board 160. The force mode indicator 354 is a numerical display of the force setting used by the primary loader controller printed circuit board 160 for controlling the impeller force on the paintballs. It is also envisioned that this could be supplemented by a transducer sensor measuring the actual force of the impeller on the paintballs. The speed mode indicator 356 is a numerical display of the balls per second being supplied out of the loader. This is determined by monitoring the movement of the paintballs out of the loader over a one second interval. The maximum rate of movement is displayed as the maximum rate of fire indicator 360. The display 350 also allows for an electronic display of a logo 362 or other source indicator to allow for the same product to be sold under multiple names by simply reprogramming the logo memory file in the display controller printed circuit board 130. A count up or count down timer 364 and/or clock 366 is displayed which is kept track of by either adding or subtracting from an internal clock on the primary loader controller printed circuit board 160. Alternatively, this same type of display may provide a clock 366 showing the current time. Finally, the information derived from the weight sensor 336 or level sensor 340 is shown in the present capacity indicator 368 which may also indicate a maximum value using a starting capacity indicator 370. The present capacity indicator 368 indicated the current level being sensed by the loader and the starting capacity indicator 370 indicates the maximum level that was achieved by the paintballs at the time that the measuring was initiated such as at the start of play or at the initial start up of the loader.

FIG. 19 shows the basic information flow 700 into and through both the primary loader controller printed circuit board 160 and the display controller printed circuit board 130. The speed information 702 sensed by the drive speed detector 152, ball/space quantity information 704 from the ball detector 330, loader mode 706 as input through the loader mode input button 270, and the ball movement information 708 in the feed neck as determined by the driven ball sensor 162 is input into the primary loader controller 710 (physically known as the printed circuit board 160) for controlling operation of the motor assembly 150 and the attached impellor assembly 180. This information is also used to calculate the values for the information to be displayed and these values are transferred to the display controller 712 (physically constructed on the printed circuit board 130). Note that if capacitance sensing is used for inputting information instead of the loader mode input button 270, then this controller to display flow becomes a two way communication path through return path 714. The display controller printed circuit board 130 outputs the information onto the display 350 for the various battery indicator 352, time display such as the timer 364 or clock 366, maximum rate of fire indicator 360, average rate of fire indicator 358, speed mode indicator 356, force mode indicator 354, paintball level such as the present capacity indicator 368 or starting capacity indicator 370, and the logo 362. This information travels across the wire interface cable/display connection 131 to the display 350 for output to the user. In this manner, information that is sensed is processed and then output to the display for communication information to the user.

FIGS. 20 through 23 provide electrical schematics for the circuitry. FIG. 20 shows the serial data flash memory connection. FIG. 21 shows the electrical schematic of the OLED/switch board using a power converter and drive circuit. FIG. 22 is an electrical schematic of the motion eye board, this same break beam type of connection is repeated for the level sensors. Note that only two connections are show for simplicity of the schematic such that additional repetitions of these connections will be necessary depending on the number of sensors being utilized. FIG. 23 is an electrical schematic of the main board showing the main microprocessor, temperature sensor, oscillator, screen display connections, input connections, motor sensor, battery sensor, and motor drive.

Reference numerals used throughout the detailed description and the drawings correspond to the following elements:

Paintball loader 100

Base 110

Mount Adapter 120

Display Controller PC Board 130

Display connection 131

Raceway 140

Feed Neck 142

Motor Assembly 150

Drive Speed Detector 152

Primary Loader Controller PC Board 160

Driven Ball Sensor 162

-   -   Neck sensors 164

Raceway screws 170

Impellor assembly 180

Impeller screw 190

Hopper shell 192

Ball compartment 194

Fill aperture 195

Drive compartment 196

Right housing 200

Ball Ramp 210

Ball Guide 220

Left Housing 230

Screw 240

Input aperture 249

Lid Assembly 250

Flip lid spring 260

Loader Mode Input Button 270

Primary battery harness 280

Batteries 281

Interface cable connecting harness 290

Screw 320

Ball detector 330

IR Emitter 332

IR Receiver 334

Weight sensor 336

Display 350

-   -   Display harness 351     -   Battery indicator 352     -   Force Mode indicator 354     -   Speed Mode indicator 356     -   Average Rate of Fire Indicator 358     -   Maximum Rate of Fire Indicator 360     -   Logo 362     -   Timer 364     -   Clock 366     -   Present Capacity indicator 368     -   Starting Capacity indicator 370

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention well adapted to obtain all the ends and objects herein set forth, together with other advantages which are inherent to the structure. It will also be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims. Many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

When interpreting the claims of this application, method claims may be recognized by the explicit use of the word ‘method’ in the preamble of the claims and the use of the ‘ing’ tense of the active word. Method claims should not be interpreted to have particular steps in a particular order unless the claim element specifically refers to a previous element, a previous action, or the result of a previous action. Apparatus claims may be recognized by the use of the word ‘apparatus’ in the preamble of the claim and should not be interpreted to have ‘means plus function language’ unless the word ‘means’ is specifically used in the claim element. The words ‘defining,’ ‘having,’ or ‘including’ should be interpreted as open ended claim language that allows additional elements or structures. Finally, where the claims recite “a” or “a first” element of the equivalent thereof, such claims should be understood to include incorporation of one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements. 

1. A paintball hopper apparatus for supplying paintballs, the apparatus comprising: a hopper body with a feed neck; a driven impeller mounted in the hopper body to drive paintballs through the feedneck; a force sensor connected to the driven impeller, the force sensor including a signal output; a display driver connected to the signal output; a tension level display connected to the display driver.
 2. A paintball hopper apparatus for supplying paintballs, the apparatus comprising: a hopper body; a fill level sensor including a signal output; a display driver connected to the signal output; and a fill level display connected to the display driver.
 3. A paintball hopper apparatus for supplying paintballs, the apparatus comprising: a hopper body; a ball discharge sensor supported off of the bopper body, the ball discharge sensor including a signal output; a display driver including an incremental counter connected to the signal output; a discharge display connected to the display driver.
 4. A paintball hopper apparatus for supplying paintballs, the apparatus comprising: a hopper body; a ball discharge sensor supported off of the bopper body, the ball discharge sensor including a signal output; a display driver including a timer, the display driver connected to the signal output; a rate of fire display connected to the display driver.
 5. A paintball hopper apparatus for supplying paintballs, the apparatus comprising: a hopper body; a ball discharge sensor supported off of the bopper body, the ball discharge sensor including a signal output; a display driver including a timer, the display driver connected to the signal output; a speed of discharge display connected to the display driver.
 6. A paintball hopper apparatus for supplying paintballs, the apparatus comprising: a hopper body; a battery supported off of the hopper body a battery sensor including a signal output, a display driver connected to the signal output; a battery charge display connected to the display driver. 